Fintech firm settles with SEC over crypto lending product

Linus Financial has agreed to stop offering its retail crypto lending product as part of the settlement

article-image

Billion Photos/Shutterstock modified by Blockworks

share

Linus Financial, a Tennessee-based financial technology company, has settled with the US Securities and Exchange Commission for alleged securities laws violations.

Linus agreed to stop offering its retail crypto lending product. Per the settlement agreement, Linus Financial opted to neither confirm nor deny the charges, the SEC said Thursday. 

According to the regulator, Linus offered its retail crypto lending product between March 2020 and April 2022. 

Linus converted tendered assets into USDC and either transferred the USDC into liquidity pools on decentralized finance platforms or directly lent the USDC to institutional borrowers to generate returns for retail investors. Interest rates were generally between 3.5% and 4.5%, the SEC said

The SEC claims that the retail product contained an investment contract, thus subjecting it to laws under the Securities Act. 

In March 2022, after increased regulatory scrutiny on the crypto lending industry, Linus opted to unwind its retail product, directing investors to withdraw funds and closing the offering to new investors. All investor funds had been claimed by late April 2022, the regulator said. 

In light of Linus’ proactive decision to halt the product in 2022, on Thursday, the SEC said it would not be imposing civil penalties against Linus, instead opting to issue a formal cease and desist to the company from offering the product again. 

Stacy Bogert, associate director of the agency’s Division of Enforcement, said that “[t]he SEC will continue to hold companies accountable for failing to comply with federal securities laws.”


Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:

Tags

Decoding crypto and the markets. Daily, with Byron Gilliam.

Upcoming Events

Old Billingsgate

Mon - Wed, October 13 - 15, 2025

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

Industry City | Brooklyn, NY

TUES - THURS, JUNE 24 - 26, 2025

Permissionless IV serves as the definitive gathering for crypto’s technical founders, developers, and builders to come together and create the future.If you’re ready to shape the future of crypto, Permissionless IV is where it happens.

Brooklyn, NY

SUN - MON, JUN. 22 - 23, 2025

Blockworks and Cracked Labs are teaming up for the third installment of the Permissionless Hackathon, happening June 22–23, 2025 in Brooklyn, NY. This is a 36-hour IRL builder sprint where developers, designers, and creatives ship real projects solving real problems across […]

recent research

Research Report Templates.png

Research

Maple Finance has successfully navigated significant market challenges through its strategic pivot to secured lending (Maple v2) and the launch of its Syrup product. Syrup has become a primary growth driver, delivering sustainable, outperforming stablecoin yields and rapidly increasing TVL. The upcoming custody-first Bitcoin staking product (istBTC) presents another significant avenue for expansion. Crucially, Maple has achieved operational profitability, a key inflection point that, combined with a fully vested token and active buyback mechanism, strengthens its investment case. While valuation metrics suggest potential undervaluation relative to peers and growth, the primary forward-looking risk identified is the long-term sustainability of its current high-take-rate collateral staking revenue model.

article-image

Sponsored

Instead of endless wallet popups, users could connect once, set clear rules, and delegate permission to an app or to an AI agent.

article-image

Prediction markets show that people bet in anticipation of things happening far too often

article-image

The agency’s final deadline is in October

article-image

Higher inflation historically lags behind tariff implementation, so don’t celebrate just yet

article-image

VanEck launches its first tokenized fund after financial giants convene at SEC roundtable

article-image

The “GameFi” platform that began its development while part of Zynga is launching another NFT collection